What the Ruck Volume XI

By DC

A wise man once said that 'there is no honour amongst thieves' - more likely than not it was some crook that got stiffed on his cut of the loot. I don't know many thieves but I can understand why someone would say it, after all it seems both believable and more than obvious. In the evil world of the round ball that they call foot, there is very little loyalty – we see examples time and time again of players that sign for clubs, announcing to the word that “I have always been a fan of (insert random club name) since I was a little nipper watching them from the terraces “..... Only for the same player to sign for another club when the massive chequebook comes visiting. In football loyalty is hardly ever rewarded – and that works for both clubs and players. I have always had a certain smugness about me – about the fact that the sport that I love, rugby, still lives in the world of honour and loyalty.  Then again, what the Hell do I know .... Honour .... Loyalty ..... Absolute tosh!!

For years now players have managed to jump nationalities as easy as changing their match day socks – how many South Sea Islanders have decided that they are in fact New Zealanders or Australians turning their backs on their native Samoa, Fiji and Tonga. These small Islands have produced some breath taking players only for them to be repatriated quicker than a 1970s Russian Ballerina defecting to the Capitalist West. I have always hated this fact but I have learnt to hide my loathing and anger – hidden mainly in ranting outbursts and foot stamping – but I have reached the end of the line. Rugby’s slide towards the dark side of the ball has taken a whole new perverted twist, the last twist that could leave rugby just a few stumbling steps from transfer insanity.

Rugby is still in its professional infancy, mistakes now could result in the rot starting at the very core of the game. The world of the oval ball has never been one that has seen record breaking transfers and money passing hand over fist like happy hour in the Amsterdam red light district – yes players in the past have signed big contracts – Matt Giteau became the first Million Pound player only a few seasons ago, Dan Carter spent about 45 seconds on the pitch for Perpignan for a princely sum of £750,000 – these are rare examples.  But this season a new twist to the transfer set up has been introduced, a new definition of contract and agreement – the Tonga’uiha two step and the Rush Bullcrap.

Soane Tonga’uiha, the human wrecking ball earlier this season announced that he would be leaving Northampton Saints to join Saracens – nothing major there, a player leaving one club for another. Soane was convinced that in order to improve his career and develop his game he should sign for another club the up and coming side with serious ambitions, Saracens. Xavier Rush decided that he had gone as far as he could with the Cardiff Blues and that he would be leaving for the Emerald Isle and joining Uslter. The Northern Irish side, under new owners, went on record earlier this year stating that they wanted to be the biggest club in Europe and the signature of the destructive Rush was a massive step in the right direction. But time ticks on and it would seem that contracts are now written on used tissues, easily ignored and discarded.

Both players decided after fantastic seasons for their respective clubs that they were going to go back on their word and stay put. Now do not get me wrong I have made rash decisions in my life, those day glow socks in the 1980s and an insane Bob hair cut in the mid 1990s go a long way to prove that – but one thing is for certain I know that a contract is a contract. If you decide that you are going to start a new job and you put pen to paper then the deal is done. You cannot just start going back on your word or the real world would descend rapidly into chaos and anarchy – so why do Rush and Tonga’uiha think that they are better than the rest of us, that their word does not mean anything?

Could the decision to turn their agreements into nothing but rubbish have anything to do with the seriously impressive seasons both players had? Could Tonga’uiha’s decision be based on the Saints second place finish in the Guinness regular season? Could Rush’s reversal be based on the fact that the Blues won their first European silverware in the blazing South of France sun?  Who knows the answer to these questions – only Rush and Tonga’uiha can truly give us those answers. But one thing is for certain, what was their word now counts as nothing – I for one will be expecting both players to be trotting out for the first games of the season in Highwaymen’s masks!

I love rugby, it’s a game of passion and pride, a game that lights the blue touch paper of emotions and entertainment – a game that used to be about honesty and integrity. Those fantasy dreams have gone – in the last 18 months we have had drug shocks, premeditated cheating and now we have yet another crack in the diamond – yet another flaw, now the word of the player’s counts for nothing. Both fans and clubs can no longer trust their players to do what they claim and say – after all who are the fans really – I mean it’s not as if it’s the fans hard earned wages that pay  for the tickets and the merchandise that eventually pay the players wages.

What is sport without role models and heroes?  What is Rugby without players that kids look up to and aspire to be? It’s nothing more than a load of chunky monkeys grunting about for 80 minutes a week for meek ripples of claps – when it should be warriors fuelled by wave upon wave of applauses and screams. Please do not get me wrong, I love the way both players play the game – they play balls out, no prisoners heads up rugby, and they do it all with a grin on their face. The problem is, I expect more from role models, I expect them to not just hold the line but to set the bar for others to aspire to. Heroes are more than Trojans on the paddock, they are far more than that – think about a hero for a while when did Superman try to save a bus full of school kids only to change his mind at the last minute? When was the last time Batman said “you know what Joker I have changed my mind, on you go chuckles you go on a murder spree”? Heroes stand by their word, they honour what they promise and that’s what I expect from role models. You know what Tonga’uiha and Rush – I would rather you said thank you for the experience and thank you for the support and then be on your way. Yes it is commendable that both players have decided to stay with their clubs but what about those new fans, those new ticket holders and shirt purchasers that were expecting you?

I would like to say that these two players are the exception to the rule however I think it is very clear that as they have been all season these two players will once again be the pace setters. Once again the oval ball takes one more step towards its evil twin football. There is no other way of saying this ..... It sickens me – it’s just not right plain and simple.    

DC